The five-year-old was all smiles chatting with John O'Shea, Sebastian Larsson and Vito Mannone

Bradley Lowery has captured the hearts of football fans with his brave battle against Neuroblastoma, a rare form of the disease, and Sunderland stars have rewarded him with a special visit.

The five-year-old cuddled up to hero and Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe , who has made a special fuss of the youngster in recent months.

Bradley was the club's mascot against Chelsea before Christmas and his case has sparked a widespread fund raising campaign by fans.

Captain John O'Shea, Sebastian Larsson and Vito Mannone also attended to cheer the youngster up, with an official post on his Facebook page expressing the family's gratitude towards Sunderland.

Double Delight: Defoe hails backroom team

08Feb2017

Jermain Defoe paid tribute to the team behind the team following Sunderland’s stunning 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The striker, who ran riot at Selhurst Park with a deadly double, hailed David Moyes and his backroom team following a team effort – on and off the pitch – in South London. Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong were also amongst the goals as Moyes’ men dismantled Big Sam’s Eagles, and speaking to safc.com the top scorer urged his team-mates to build on their performance.

“To come here and put in a performance like that – and have those energy levels – was amazing,” said Defoe. “Full credit to the coaching staff and the manager as well because I thought everyone played their part, and the players worked hard from the first minute to the last.”

Jermain Defoe: I knew great performance was coming after ‘sharp’ training session

07Feb2017

It was the perfect day for Sunderland and Jermain Defoe as they ended an eight-game winless run with a stunning 4-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Hull’s shock win over Liverpool meant the Black Cats stayed at the bottom of the table, but Saturday’s Selhurst Park win transformed the relegation landscape. The Black Cats are now just two points from safety, with a game against out-of-form Southampton at the Stadium of Light this coming weekend.

While the scale of the Eagles’ implosion was a surprise to 34-year-old striker Defoe, the three points was not. Sunderland’s talisman put it down to a well-executed gameplan and positive signs on the training ground in midweek. The two-goal frontman said: “I felt confident from the training session (on Friday) – it was sharp and I could tell that the lads were really on it. “I think that was because of the result against Tottenham – we didn’t score, but the way that we defended and the character, we felt like we got the spirit back.

“Coming into the game, I felt confident, it was just a case of keeping clean sheets and giving ourselves a chance to win games, and we did it against Tottenham, an unbelievable team who are difficult to play against. “I suppose if you can do that against the lesser teams then you always give yourself a chance to get points. But to score four goals in the first half (at Palace), it was a good feeling. “Credit to the coaching staff as well.

“Tactically, I thought we got it spot on and it’s just down to the players to go and execute the game plan, which we did, to be disciplined. “It was the perfect performance, I think, the perfect performance “Clean sheet, score four goals, go home with three points. Brilliant.”

Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe heaps misery on broken Crystal Palace

05Feb2017

...With thoughts turning to the break, Sunderland again forced open the Palace portcullis. Didier Ndong doubled their lead with a long-range effort after a mistake by Delaney, drilling past Hennessey with a sweet left-footed drive from 25 yards.

Soon after, in possession on the left flank with half-time approaching, Januzaj rolled a weighted ball to Defoe, who curled his low drive across Hennessey’s bows and into the bottom corner.

Seconds later, the incredulous pair combined again, with Defoe turning Tomkins to fire home on the turn and make it 4-0. The travelling support were left as agog as their home counterparts were enraged...

Harry Kane has revealed that Jermain Defoe was an inspiration for him when the former West Ham striker moved to Tottenham.

Defoe had already proven his Premier League class when he first sealed a switch to White Hart Lane in 2004, with Kane then on the books of Spurs' youth set-up.

Kane took the opportunity to study Defoe in training and became determined to emulate him, and more than a decade on the 23-year-old has 62 top-flight goals and 17 England caps to his name.

"I used to watch Jermain Defoe train here," Kane, whose Spurs side drew 0-0 against Defoe's Sunderland on Tuesday, told The Daily Mail. "One of the very best. Shoot early. One touch. Through a defender's legs.